


A Lesson In Love

by jn208505



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Happy, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-14
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-14 16:18:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4571241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jn208505/pseuds/jn208505
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's 1957, doo-wop is on the radio, leather jackets and poodle skirts were in style, and Susan Pevensie was a teacher with a secret someone. Clearly it was a good year!</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Lesson In Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Snacky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snacky/gifts).



> Hello dear reader! For this year's NFE, I chose to fulfill your second request and give you a story all about Susan!  
> I had a wonderful time writing for you. I hope you enjoy reading it and that the story is everything you hoped for! I've done my humble best! ;) Glad to have gotten this opportunity to write for you! And without further adieu, here you go....

Twenty-nine year old Susan Pevensie absentmindedly brushed a stray, brown lock behind her left ear as she made another red mark on the paper in front of her. Susan was in her third year of teaching English and creative writing at a boarding school just outside of Harlow. She loved her job as a teacher, she loved her little flat on the edge of the school grounds, she absolutely loved her life right now.  
  
Susan picked up another essay to grade as the sound of her newly purchased Everly Brothers record played through the flat.  
She marked her way through two more essays before a knock on the door interrupted her and she got up to answer it.  
Susan opened the door to reveal her beau and fellow teacher, Henry Bartlett. She smiled widely at the sight of him before taking his hand and pulling him inside. Susan and Henry had been secretly dating for almost six months now, and keeping their relationship under wraps at a school where no one leaves, was a feat for sure, but worth every second in Susan’s opinion.  
  
“Well, hello!” Henry greeted happily. Susan stood on her tip-toes and pressed her lips against his. Henry was about seven inches taller than she was. He had thick brown hair that he kept slicked back, his little black comb forever in the back pocket of his trousers. Henry was considered the coolest teacher in school by all of the students, especially the girls.  
  
“How are you, love?” Henry asked as they pulled apart.  
  
“Alright,” Susan replied, gently brushing her thumb on his bottom lip. She felt so happy with him there. Even though she had seen him over lunch, she had missed him in their hours apart.  
  
“You?” she asked.  
  
“Wonderful now! I’ve finished my lesson plan for tomorrow and I’m here to spend some time with you.” Henry said perkily. Susan loved his constant jovial mood.  
  
“Lucky you! I still have four more essays to read and mark.” Susan told him.  
  
“Only four more? You can get those done in a second, you can finish them in the morning before your classes. Right now, is time to dance.” He said, walking over to her record player and stopping her Everly Brother record.  
  
“Hey! I was listening to that.” Susan argued playfully.  
  
“Why do you insist on listening to them? You need to listen to something more upbeat…” Henry trailed off as he sifted through her messy record collection that was strewn across the top of her kitchen table. After a few moments of searching Henry found what he was looking for and placed the record on player before bringing the needle into place and turning up the volume. Suddenly Susan’s flat was filled with the sounds of Elvis Presley crooning.  
  
“Of course…” Susan said, smirking at Henry for his music choice.  
  
“He is the future of music, the voice of the generation!” Henry argued happily. Susan simply rolled her eyes knowing full well how much of an Elvis fan her steady was.  
  
“You can’t complain, you do own the record!” Henry pointed out.  
  
“You bought it for me.” Susan reasoned.  
  
“Only because I want you to be cool and know all the popular artists. You should thank me for that!” Henry said. Susan burst out laughing.  
  
“Alright, thank you for making me cool, Henry.” she told him.  
  
“I think that deserves a dance.” Henry said, holding out his hand. Susan didn’t hesitate a second before taking his hand and following him to the center of the room. Henry wrapped an arm around her waist as she rested hers around his shoulder. Susan’s right hand squeezed Henry’s left as they started swaying in time to the music. At that moment, Susan didn’t care where she was, or what music was playing, or how many more essays she had to read, she only cared that she was dancing with Henry. The rest of the world fell away. She wanted to stay like this forever, not a care in the world.  
  
The song was coming to an end when Henry moved his hand from hers and brought it to cup her chin before lovingly pressing his lips onto hers. Susan sighed happily at the feeling of his mouth against hers.  
  
Henry pulled back slightly before kissing her again and again. Susan gently nipped his bottom lip. Henry took the hint and immediately kissed her firmly, pushing her lips apart with his. Susan reveled in the feeling of his warm breath on hers as their tongues collided. Henry tightened his grip on both her hip and chin as Susan wrapped both arms around his neck and pulled him even closer as their mouths moved in synch.  
  
After over a minute, Susan pulled back, desperate for air, a warm, tingly sensation coursing through her veins.  
  
“Are you alright?” Henry asked, his breathing was heavy.  
  
“I’m better than alright.” Susan assured him, giving him a quick peck on the lips.  
  
“This is a perfect night.” Henry said.  
  
“It is, although the background music could be a little better.” Susan said jokingly, nodding towards the record player that was now whirring and thumping across the vinyl now that the song was over.  
  
“Hmm, not very romantic, huh?” Henry asked with a small smile.  
  
“Not really.” Susan responded playfully. Henry let go of his hold on Susan to go change the record. Susan’s skin now felt cold without his touch.  
  
Henry selected a Platters record this time, and flipped the switch on the player for it to play on repeat before returning to Susan’s arms.  
“There, problem solved.” Henry said cheekily. Susan couldn’t help but giggle.  
  
“You’re brilliant.” she said before crashing her lips against his once more. The two picked up right where they left off and within a few moments were stumbling over to Susan’s bed. Susan felt her heart soar as her head hit the pillow, she never wanted to be anything less than this happy ever again.  
  
...  
  
Susan took a generous gulp of her coffee as she sat at her desk in the back of her classroom, quietly watching over a class of some of her younger students. She had given them a free write assignment this lesson, not only hoping to get their creative juices flowing, but to give her coffee a few moments to get into her system. Henry had stayed very late, not that he had given her anything to complain about during his visit, then after he left, Susan stayed up to finish reading the essays of some of her older students. Susan was exhausted, albeit quite content, that morning.  
  
Susan felt herself start to perk up about halfway through the lesson and decided to get up and walk around the desks to check on her students’ progress. She had to say she was quite impressed with how diligently they were all working. Susan had just finished her loop around the room and returned to her desk when she saw one of her students, Ruth, a small, bubbly girl with blonde curls, rushing over to her, paper and pencil in hand.  
  
“Ms. Pevensie!” Ruth called loudly, causing some of the other students to turn around.  
  
“Shhhh, Ruth, quiet voice while we’re working.” Susan reminded her gently.  
  
“Sorry.” Ruth replied in a whisper.  
  
“What’s going on?” Susan asked with a smile.  
  
“I finished my story!” Ruth said, holding up the paper, completely filled with words.  
  
“Wonderful! What kind of story did you write? A Mystery? A Comedy?” Susan asked.  
  
“Adventure!” Ruth said proudly.  
  
“Well what adventure do your characters go on?” Susan prompted.  
  
“The story is about a girl called Cynthia, and she lives at a school like ours, and one day she goes down a long corridor in the school, opens a door and finds herself in a magical world!” Ruth gushed, Susan’s eyes widened.  
  
“What?” she asked.  
  
“I know it couldn’t happen, but it’s a story, anything can happen there!” Ruth defended.  
  
“Uh huh,” Susan said absent mindedly. Her heart was fluttering, and she could feel her palms beginning to sweat, she didn’t like anything that reminded her of the past, she had worked very hard to suppress the memories.  
  
“It’s a fun story, Ms. Pevensie, Cynthia meets all these talking animals and she goes on adventures!” Ruth continued, proudly.  
  
“Yes, wonderful job, Ruth, you may return to your seat.” Susan said dully. She felt bad, she could see the disappointment on Ruth’s face, but she couldn’t help it. As soon had returned to her desk, Susan got up and rushed across the hall to find someone to mind her class for the final forty five minutes of lesson time before lunch.  
  
The moment her class had coverage, she grabbed her bag and made her way out the main building and on to the grounds, to her flat.  
  
Susan filled the kettle and placed it on the stove to start the tea before slipping off her shoes and putting on slippers. As soon as the tea was ready, Susan filled a mug, reveling in the warmth on her hands and took a seat on the far end of the sofa. She let out a heavy sigh then began to sip her tea, letting the warm liquid sooth her throat.  
  
After a few long minutes, Susan reached over to the end table and began rummaging through the bottom drawer until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a small framed photo of her and her siblings, a captured moment that felt as if it were many centuries ago, rather than just over a decade. Susan ran her thumb over the picture of the four of them sitting on the floor in front of the fire place in their Finchley home. She saw herself as a young girl, ten years old, at most, on the far right, smiling wide, with her arm around her little brother, Edmund, who looked far more interested in the toy car he was holding rather than having his picture taken. Her elder brother, Peter, was next to him, proudly holding their youngest sibling, Lucy, in his lap. Both looking incredibly happy.  
  
Susan quickly brushed a stray tear off her cheek and bit her lip. She couldn’t cry, she wouldn’t cry. Yes, she missed them terribly, and no, they weren’t close or even friends at the end, but she had loved them. Loved them a lot. Not to mention she had already spent years in mourning. Her life was great now, she had to remember that, she couldn’t go back. She took another gulp of her tea when there was a loud knock at the door, startling her a bit.  
  
“Come in,” Susan called, not feeling like getting up.  
  
“Susan?” Henry called as he pushed open the door, letting himself in.  
  
“Hi.” Susan greeted quietly. Henry quickly shut the door behind him and rushed over to the sofa, taking a seat next to her, and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.  
  
“Hey, what’s going on? I heard you rushed out of your lesson.” He said, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.  
  
“I know, it was stupid. I just needed a moment, I’ll be fine to return after lunch.” Susan told him.  
  
“Alright,” Henry agreed, holding her tightly. Susan felt so much better in his arms. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few long moments before Henry broke it.  
  
“Oh, what’s this?” he asked curiously as he took the photograph from Susan’s hands.  
  
“It’s nothing.” Susan said quietly as she tried to take it back from him.  
  
“That’s you, isn’t it?” he asked, look at the picture.  
  
“Yes.” Susan said with a sigh.  
  
“Are these your siblings?” Henry asked. Susan nodded.  
  
“I don’t really want to talk about it.” She admitted. Henry looked into her sad eyes for a moment.  
  
“You don’t have to, I understand.” He told her sweetly.  
  
“You do?” Susan asked.  
  
“Yes, the war, it was horrible. I lost both my father and uncle on a battlefield in France, and my Aunt and cousins were victims in one of the bombings. I understand it hurts to bring up memories of those we’ve lost. I want you to know that it’s alright. You never have to say anything else, but in case you ever do, I’d love to hear about them.” Henry explained. Susan felt her heart swell. She was so happy to be with someone who cared enough not to push her or ask questions or open old wounds.  
  
“Thank you!” she said honestly.  
  
“Of course.” Henry said, leaning down and giving her a gentle peck on the lips.  
  
“Do you want to go get something to eat?” Henry asked. Susan nodded.  
  
“Sure, I am pretty hungry.” She said as they stood up. She quickly pulled off her slippers and put her regular shoes back on.  
  
“Where do you want me to put the picture? In this drawer again?” Henry asked, looking at the open drawer of her end table as Susan quickly ran a brush through her hair. She set the brush down and came over to where Henry was standing, biting her lip as she looked at the photograph.  
  
“You know what, I think I may want to finally leave it out.” Susan said as she looked at it.  
  
“I think that’s a great idea.” Henry assured her as he closed the open drawer for her. Susan took the picture and placed it on the top of her end table.  
  
“Perfect.” She said quietly, a small smile escaping.  
  
“I think so!”  
  
“Come on, let’s go get something to eat, I’m famished.” Susan said, holding out her hand. Henry took it immediately and led her out of the flat and back across the grounds. A new calm rested over Susan as she walked. Life was perfect, perfect for the first time in a very long time. And she hoped it would stay just as perfect forever.  
  
….  
….  
  
The End!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it, dear reader, I had a wonderful time writing for you!!!


End file.
